Several years ago I was the assistant for a major casting director. The project we were currently working on was for a very popular musical. Throughout the day, I was in the audition room taking notes along with the casting director and the producers. While some of the actors were very professional, selected great songs and performed while actually singing, others used this opportunity to simply sing. This raises a big question amongst the acting community, should you act while singing an audition song?
Unless otherwise specified, you should never perform a musical theater audition by simply standing and singing. It is vital to treat a song like you would a monologue to showcase your acting and singing abilities.
How Much is Too Much?
While it is imperative that an actor act while he sings, there is a fine line between acting and over-acting. Acting while singing is a slippery slope, and unfortunately, far too many actors slide down this slope with little to no control.
To answer the question this article asks, yes you should act while you’re singing; however, you must understand that while you’re singing your voice should do most of the acting, not your body.
Vocal acting basically refers to allowing your voice to provide the emotional intensity the song requires. The best way to learn how to do this is to read the lyrics of the song as if it were a monologue. Where in the “dialogue” would you place your emotional intensity? Where are the highs and lows of the lyrics? By identifying these moments within the song, you can add the appropriate emotion to turn the song from something pretty to something engaging.
Don’t Worry About Sounding Pretty
Far too many musical theater actors worry about making their voice sound wonderful rather than allowing the emotions of the song guide their voice. If you’re too concerned about the actual sound of your voice, then you are not living in the moment and while you may sound nice your performance will be dull and better fit for an album instead of a theater performance.
As a musical theater actor, you must give yourself permission to sound not so pretty. While you must always sing on key and on pitch, don’t place your focus on your voice. Rather, place your focus on the emotional intent of the song. By doing so, the emotions of the song will actually guide your voice into one that is beautiful and full of emotions, which is what the casting directors wish to see, or hear.
